Desk construction

ABSTRACT

The present invention is directed to a desk and panel and leg construction comprising a pair of spaced-apart sheet metal sidewalls joined by sheet metal end walls and a bottom wall, a body of rigid cellular construction disposed between the sidewalls, layers of adhesive disposed between the inner surfaces of the sidewalls and the body of cellular construction, a pair of mounting channels respectively disposed adjacent to the sidewalls and extending from adjacent to the bottom wall upwardly and beyond the upper edges of the sidewalls, the mounting channels carrying structure thereon for connection to a desk top, a Ushaped support bracket disposed in the lower portion of the end panel and having openings therein in alignment with openings in the bottom wall to mount a leg on the underside of the end panel, the leg being of generally hollow construction and having a foot thereon adjustable with respect thereto.

United States Patent [72] Inventor Kenneth D. Schreyer Doylestown, Pa.[21] Appl. No. 798,259 [22] Filed Feb. 3, 1969 [45] Patented Feb.23,1971 [73] Assignee Lyon Metal Products, Incorporated Aurora, 111.Continuation of application Ser. No. 635,939, Apr. 5, 1967, nowabandoned which is a division of application Ser. No. 503,157, Oct. 23,1965, now Patent No. 3,363,955.

[54] DESK CONSTRUCTION 7 Claims, 21 Drawing Figs.

[52] U.S.Cl 248/1884 [51] 1nt.C| A47b 91/02 [50] Field ofSearch 248/188,188.4,188.8, 188.1;312/194,195

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,858,381 5/1932 Vance248/1888 2,141,954 12/1938 Jones ....(248/188.8UX) 3,063,765 11/1962Huff 248/1888 1,289,473 12/1918 Keating 248/1884 1,826,670 10/1931Ohnstrand 312/195X Primary ExaminerRoy D. Frazier Attorney-Prangley,Clayton, Mullin, Dithmar & Vogel ABSTRACT: The present invention isdirected to a desk and panel and leg construction comprising a pair ofspaced-apart sheet metal sidewalls joined by sheet metal end walls and abottom wall, a body of rigid cellular construction disposed between thesidewalls, layers of adhesive disposed between the inner surfaces of thesidewalls and the body of cellular construction, a pair of mountingchannels respectively disposed adjacent to the sidewalls and extendingfrom adjacent to the bottom wall upwardly and beyond the upper edges ofthe sidewalls, the mounting channels carrying structure thereon forconnection to a desk top, a U-shaped support bracket disposed in thelower portion of the end panel and having openings therein in alignmentwith openings in the bottom wall to mount a leg on the underside of theend panel, the leg being of generally hollow construction and having afoot thereon adjustable with respect thereto.

PATENTED H823 Is?! 3565; 377

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DESK CONSTRUCTION This application is a streamline continuation of thecopending application Ser. No. 635,939, filed Apr. 5, 1967 for DeskConstruction, now abandoned, which was a division of the copendingapplication Ser. No. 503,157, filed Oct. 23, 1965 for Desk Construction,now U.S. Pat. No. 3,363,955.

This invention relates to furniture constructions, and particularly todesks, and to improvements in desk components and the interconnectionthereof one with the other.

It is an important object of the. invention to provide in a furnitureconstruction of the type set forth an improved end panel of compositeconstruction including a pair of metal sidewalls receiving therebetweena filler of honeycomb construction secured thereto by mastic to providea load-bearing member, the end panel also including channels andbrackets at the upper end thereof for mounting the end panel on themounting channels. of an associated furniture top of the presentinvention.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved furnitureleg and foot, the foot being. adjustable with respect to the furnitureleg and providing a large floor'contact area and a large adjustmentrange, all with low construction cost.

In connection with the foregoingobject it is another object of theinvention to provide an improved adjustable furniture leg and footparticularly adapted tomounting on the bottom of a desk pedestal, two ofthe. furniture legs being provided and connected by a stabilizing barthat serves to distribute the load in the pedestal between the twofurniture legs.

A still further object of the invention isto provide an improvedfurniture leg and foot that is attacliment to an end panel.

Further features of the, invention pertain to the particular arrangementof the parts whereby the above-outlined and additional features thereofare attained.

The invention, both as to its organization and method'of construction,together with other objects and advantages, will best be understood byreference to the following specification taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a single pedestal deskmade in accordancewith and embodying the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of the desk of FIG. .1; FIG. 3 is arear elevational view of the desk of FIGS. 1 and FIG. 4 is an endelevational view of thedesk illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 3;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of the lower end of the end panel and showingthe associated leg mounted thereon;

FIG. 6 is a side elevational view of the structure of FIG. 5 as seen inthe direction of the arrows along the line 6-6 thereof;

FIG. 7 is a view in vertical section through the leg of FIG. 6 along theline 7-7 thereof;

FIG. 8 is a view in vertical sectionthrough the leg of FIG. 7 along theline 8-8 thereof;

particularly adapted for FIG. 9 is a further enlarged view in verticalsection with certain portions broken away and illustrating theinterconnection between the leg and the pedestal of FIG. 5 at the frontof the desk;

FIG. 10 is a view in vertical section through the assembly of FIG. 9along the line 10-10 thereof;

FIG. 11 is a view similar to FIG. 10 illustrating the connection betweenthe back panel and the end panel and the associated leg;

FIG. 12 is a further enlarged view of the upper end of the leg prior toassembly in FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is an enlarged fragmentary view illustrating a leg mounted onand supporting the pedestal;

FIG. 14 is a side view partly in section along the line 14-14 of FIG.13;

FIG. 15 is an enlarged view in vertical section through the bottom ofthe leg and illustrating the connection thereof to the associated foot;

FIG. 16 is a view in vertical section through the leg of FIG. 14 alongthe line 16-16 thereof, the associated foot and mountingstructure havingbeen removed for illustrative purposes;

FIG. 17 is a view in vertical section through the leg of FIG. 16 alongthe line 17-17 thereof;

FIG. 18 is a further enlarged view in vertical section through the tiechannel and the bottom of the pedestalalong the line 18-l8'in FIG. 14,and illustrating additional features of the mounting of the leg on thepedestal;

FIG. 19 is a rear view of the upper portion of the leg of F IO. 17 asseen along the line 19-19 thereof;

FIG. 20 is a view similar to FIG. 14 but illustrating the mounting ofthe rear leg on the pedestal; and

FIG. 21 is a side elevational view-of the lower end of the pedestal andillustrating the interconnection between the legs by the tie channeltherebetween.

Referring now to the drawings, and particularly to FIGS. 1 to 4 thereof,there is illustrated a piece of furniture made in accordance with andembodying the principles of the present invention, a left-hand singlepedestal desk having been shown for purposes of illustration. The desk100 includes a desk top 101 at one end of which is disposed a pedestal1-50 supported by a pair of legs 500 having associated feet-520, thepedestal having mounted therein a shelf 190, a box drawer "210 and afile drawer 270,'the shelf being provided with a pull.l90P, the boxdrawer 210 being provided with a pull 210P and the file drawer 270 beingprovided with a pull 2701. Mounted .on the other end of the desk top 101is-an end panel 450,supported by a pair of legs 550 having associatedfeet 570, the space between the pedestal 150 and the end panel 450 atthe rear of the desktop 101 being closed by a back panel 400; as may bebest seen in FIG. .3, the back panel 400 is provided with a 'pair ofwiring openings 415 for the receptionof telephone-wires and the like.There further is mounted .on the desk top 101* a center drawer 380 and adepending front wall or skirt 390, a lock 360 being provided insubstantially the center of the front edge of the desk top 101 to lockthe several drawers 210, 270 and 380.

As is seen in FIG. 1 to 4 of the drawings, two of the legs 500 areprovided beneath the'pedestal 1'50 to support the same upon anunderlying support surface, the legs 500 being disposed substantiallycentrally laterally of the pedestal 150 .and being respectively disposedadjacent to the front and rear thereof. The detailsof construction andthe details of mounting the pedestal legs 500 are illustrated in FIGS.13 to 21 of .the drawings, wherein itwill be seen that each of the legs500 Disposed in'the rear wall portion of the upper end 503 is achannel-receiving notch505 extending substantially from thelongitudinalmidpoint of the wings 504 rearwardly to the rear end of thebody 501. Each of the wings 504 also has a recess 506 in the rearm'ostportion thereof communicating with the notch505, the notch .505 and therecesses 506 cooperating to receive the adjacent end of a tie channel510 therein. As may bestbe seen in FIG. 18, the tie channel 510 includesa bottom wall 511 adapted to lie on the bottom of the notch S05 and apair of upwardly and outwardly directed sidewalls S12 lying against thesides of the notch 505 and integral with the upper edges of-thesidewalls 512 are out-turned flanges 513 lying in the recesses .506 inthe associated wings 504. Each of the wings .504 has an opening 507therein that is in general alignment with an opening514 in the adjacentflange 513, these openings receiving a bolt 508 therethrough. Thedetails of the attachment of the front leg 500 are illustrated in FIGS.14 and 18, wherein it will be seen that the bolts 508 also extendupwardly through an aligned opening in the pedestal bottom wall 167 andinto internally threaded embossments 189 formed in the attachment flange184 of the front bracket 183. The rear leg 500 is similarly attached tothe bottom reinforcement 175, and particularly to the main wall 176thereof by the bolts 508, the bolts 508 engaging in threaded embossments176a formed in the main wall 176. From FIG. 21 it will be seen that thetie channel 510 extends between the front and rear pedestal legs 500 toprovide interconnection therebetween and to reinforce the pedestalbottom wall 167, thereby to stabilize and tie together the various partsthereof.

Referring now particularly to FIGS. 15 to 17, it will be seen that thelower end of each of the legs 500 carries a foot 520, each lower end 502of each leg 500 more particularly having a vertically extending recess515 therein on the walls of the lower portion of which are formedthreads 516. Each foot 520 includes an elongated shank 521 that extendsupwardly into the associated recess 515 and carries on the upper endthereof an enlarged threaded section 522 carrying threads that engagewith the threads 516. The lower end of the shank 521 carries anoutwardly directed support member 523 that is generally circular inoutline and has a generally circular support surface on the undersidethereof. The surface 524 can be adjusted vertically with respect to thepedestal leg 500 by threading the threaded section 522 downwardly andupwardly with respect to the threads 516. A substantial distance ofadjustment can be achieved while providing good stability between theleg 500 and the foot 520, all while concealing the threaded connectiontherebetween. As a result, a mechanically strong and stable leg and footconstruction of good appearance is thus provided.

The details of construction of the front bracket 183 and the bottomreinforcement 175 of the pedestal 150 are more particularly described incopending application Ser. No. 635,939, filed Apr. 5, I967 for DeskConstruction, now abandoned, a division of copending application Ser.No. 503,157, now US. Pat. No. 3,363,955.

The end panel 450 is supported by two end panel legs 550, one of thelegs 550 being disposed toward the forward end of the end panel 450 andthe other leg 550 being disposed toward the rear end of the end panel450, both of the legs being centered laterally under the end panel 450.The details of construction and connection of the end panel legs 550 arebest illustrated in FIGS. 5 to 12 of the drawings wherein it will beseen that each of the legs 550 includes a body 551 formed of metal,preferably cast aluminum. The body 551 includes a transversely curvedupstanding front wall 552 that merges with a pair of substantially flatsidewalls 554 that extend rearwardly with respect to the front wall 552and are curved upwardly and directed rearwardly as may best be seen inFIG. 6. The sidewalls 554 are joined by a transversely curved andupwardly and rearwardly curved rear wall 553. There further is providedan intermediate wall 555 extending substantially the entire verticallength of the leg 550 and integrally joining an inner wall 556cooperating to provide a vertically extending recess 567 thereinprovided with threads 568 on the lower portions of the wall thereof.Finally, a transverse wall 557 is provided joining the upper end of thewall 556 and an intermediate portion of the intermediate wall 555, thetransverse wall 557 having an opening 558 therein that is in generalaxial alignment with the recess 567 and adapted to receive therethrougha fastener as will be described more fully hereinafter. The rear wall553 also has a fastener receiving opening 559 therein, there beingprovided adjacent to the opening 559 an upwardly extending projection560, a cooperating projection 56! being provided on the upper end of theintermediate wall 555, the projections 560 and 561 extending intocooperating openings or slots 456 in the bottom flange 453 of the endwall 450 (see FIG. 9).

In order to attach each of the legs 550 to the underside of the end wall450, a first bolt 562 has been provided having an enlarged head 563, theshank of the bolt 562 extending upwardly through the opening 558 in thetransverse wall 557 with the head 563 engaging the under surface of thewall 557, the upper end of the bolt 562 carrying a threaded portion 564that extends upwardly through aligned openings in the clip flange 493(where provided as in FIG. 11) and the bottom flanges 453 and the bottomwall 474 and threadedly engaging the nut 476. A second bolt 565 isdisposed in the recess 566 in the rear wall 553 that is in alignmentwith the opening 559 therein, the bolt 565 extending through an alignedopening in the bottom flanges 453 and the bottom wall 474 and threadedlyengages the nut 477. It will be seen from FIGS. 9 and 10 that the leg550 is firmly mounted upon the end wall 450 by means of the bolts 562and 565, the connection being entirely concealed. It further is notedthat the upper edges of the front wall 552, the rear wall 553, thesidewalls 554 and the intermediate wall 555 are all curved toaccommodate the curved lower edge of the end panel 450.

The lower end of each of the legs 550 has operatively connected theretoa foot 570, the foot 570 including an elongated vertically arrangedshank 571 extending upwardly into the associated recess 567 and havingadjacent to the upper end thereof an enlarged threaded section 572carrying threads that engage the threads 568 in the leg 550. Integralwith the lower end of the shank 571 is an enlarged support member 573 ofgenerally circular outline and having a substantially flat supportsurface 574 on the underside thereof. It will be seen that the foot 570is adjustable with respect to the leg 550 and pos-. sesses all of theadvantages that have been set forth above with respect to the leg 500and its associated foot 520, whereby in the interest of brevity, thesame will not be here repeated.

Fundamentally the desk is formed of sheet metal with the exception ofthe several parts mentioned during the above description. Furthermore,the sheet metal forming the various parts is of relatively light gauge,as will be appreciated from the following examples of the gauge of thesheet metal utilized to form various parts of the desk 100. For example,in a typical illustrative embodiment of the desk top 101, the top plate102 is formed of 20 gauge steel, the edging 103 is formed of 18 gaugesteel, reinforcing sheet is formed of 24 gauge steel and the mountingchannel is formed of l8 gauge steel. In a typical construction of theback panel 400, the outer sidewall 401 is formed of 24 gauge steel, theinner sidewall 401 is formed of 26 gauge steel and the hangers 420 areformed of l4 gauge steel. Similarly, in a typical construction of theend panel 450, both of the sidewalls 451 are formed of 24 gauge steel,the channel 470 is formed of 16 gauge steel, the anchor clips 480 areformed of 14 gauge steel and the leg support 473 is formed of 12 gaugesteel.

The remaining parts of the desk 100 not fully described herein are fullyillustrated and described in the copending application Ser. No. 635,939,filed Apr. 5, I967 for Desk Construction, now abandoned, a division ofthe copending application Ser. No. 503,157, now US. Pat. No. 3,363,955,and the description thereof is incorporated herein in its entirety byreference.

From the above description it will be seen that there has been providedan improved article of furniture, and specifically an improved deskconstruction, which fulfills all of the objects and advantages set forthabove. Likewise there has been provided an improved end panel ofcomposite construction including a pair of metal sidewalls receivingtherebetween a filler of honeycomb construction secured thereto bymastic, the end panel also including stiffening channels and brackets atthe upper end thereof for mounting of the end panel on the mountingchannels of an improved desk top and for connecting to the end panellegs.

While there have been described what are at present considered to be thepreferred embodiments of the invention, it will be understood thatvarious modifications may be made therein, and it is intended to coverin the appended claims all such modifications as fall within the truespirit and scope of the invention.

lclaim:

l. A furniture leg construction comprising an upstanding hollow bodyhaving a lower end and a substantially rearwardly extending elongatedupper end, a transverse wall dividing said body into a lower recess andan upper recess, threads formed on the inner periphery of said lowerrecess, a first opening formed in said transverse wall in generalalignment with said lower recess for receiving the shank of a firstfastener therethrough, said upper end of said body having a secondopening therein in the rearward portion thereof for receiving a secondfastener therethrough, and a foot having an integral shank extendingupwardly therefrom and carrying a threaded portion engaging the threadsin said lower recess for mounting said foot on said body.

2. The furniture leg construction set forth in claim 1, wherein saidtransverse wall is integral with said upstanding hollow body.

3. The furniture leg construction set forth in claim 1, wherein saidtransverse wall is spaced well below the upper end of said body.

4. An end panel and leg construction comprising an end panel having alongitudinally extending narrow bottom wall having upstanding sidewallsextending upwardly therefrom, a support leg disposed beneath said endpanel and substantially centrally laterally thereof, said leg includinga hollow body having a lower end and a substantially longitudinallyextending elongated upper end, a transverse wall dividing said body intoa lower recess and an upper recess, threads formed on the innerperiphery of said lower recess, a first opening formed in saidtransverse wall in general alignment with said lower recess and inalignment with a first aperture in said bottom wall, a first threadedfastener extending upwardly through said first opening and into saidfirst aperture for mounting said leg upon said end panel, the upper endof said body having a second opening therein in a portion thereofdisposed away from said first fastener and in alignment with a secondaperture in said bottom wall, a second fastener extending upwardlythrough said second opening and into said second aperture for mountingsaid leg upon said end panel, and a foot having an integral shankextending upwardly therefrom and carrying a threaded portion disposed insaid lower recess and engaging the threads thereon for mounting saidfoot on said body.

5. The end panel and leg construction set forth in claim 4, wherein thebottom wall of said end panel is convexly curved, and the upper end ofsaid leg body is concavely curved to receive and hold said convexlycurved bottom wall of said end panel.

6. The end panel and leg construction set forth in claim 4, wherein saidbottom wall has a pair of slots therein and said leg has a pair ofprojections on the upper end thereof extending respectively upwardlyinto said slots.

7. A furniture leg construction for mounting beneath a piece offurniture, said leg construction comprising an upstanding front wall, asubstantially upstanding rear wall, and a pair of upstanding sidewallsintegral with said front and rear walls to define an upstanding bodywith a substantially hollow interior having a lower end with a firstopening therein, a substantially rearwardly extending upper end having asecond opening therein in substantial alignment with an aperture in thepiece of furniture for receiving a fastener therethrough, a transversewall integral with said body and dividing the hollow interior of saidbody into a lower recess and an upper recess, said transverse wallhaving a third opening formed therein in substantial alignment with saidlower recess for receiving the respect to said bod a distance equal tosaid predeterminedthreaded portion 0 said shank 11'! length while conceaing the said recess.

1. A furniture leg construction comprising an upstanding hollow bodyhaving a lower end and a substantially rearwardly extending elongatedupper end, a transverse wall dividing said body into a lower recess andan upper recess, threads formed on the inner periphery of said lowerrecess, a first opening formed in said transverse wall in generalalignment with said lower recess for receiving the shank of a firstfastener therethrough, said upper end of said body having a secondopening therein in the rearward portion thereof for receiving a secondfastener therethrough, and a foot having an integral shank extendingupwardly therefrom and carrying a threaded portion engaging the threadsin said lower recess for mounting said foot on said body.
 2. Thefurniture leg construction set forth in claim 1, wherein said transversewall is integral with said upstanding hollow body.
 3. The furniture legconstruction set forth in claim 1, wherein said transverse wall isspaced well below the upper end of said body.
 4. An end panel and legconstruction comprising an end panel having a longitudinally extendingnarrow bottom wall having upstanding sidewalls extending upwardlytherefrom, a support leg disposed beneath said end panel andsubstantially centrally laterally thereof, said leg including a hollowbody hAving a lower end and a substantially longitudinally extendingelongated upper end, a transverse wall dividing said body into a lowerrecess and an upper recess, threads formed on the inner periphery ofsaid lower recess, a first opening formed in said transverse wall ingeneral alignment with said lower recess and in alignment with a firstaperture in said bottom wall, a first threaded fastener extendingupwardly through said first opening and into said first aperture formounting said leg upon said end panel, the upper end of said body havinga second opening therein in a portion thereof disposed away from saidfirst fastener and in alignment with a second aperture in said bottomwall, a second fastener extending upwardly through said second openingand into said second aperture for mounting said leg upon said end panel,and a foot having an integral shank extending upwardly therefrom andcarrying a threaded portion disposed in said lower recess and engagingthe threads thereon for mounting said foot on said body.
 5. The endpanel and leg construction set forth in claim 4, wherein the bottom wallof said end panel is convexly curved, and the upper end of said leg bodyis concavely curved to receive and hold said convexly curved bottom wallof said end panel.
 6. The end panel and leg construction set forth inclaim 4, wherein said bottom wall has a pair of slots therein and saidleg has a pair of projections on the upper end thereof extendingrespectively upwardly into said slots.
 7. A furniture leg constructionfor mounting beneath a piece of furniture, said leg constructioncomprising an upstanding front wall, a substantially upstanding rearwall, and a pair of upstanding sidewalls integral with said front andrear walls to define an upstanding body with a substantially hollowinterior having a lower end with a first opening therein, asubstantially rearwardly extending upper end having a second openingtherein in substantial alignment with an aperture in the piece offurniture for receiving a fastener therethrough, a transverse wallintegral with said body and dividing the hollow interior of said bodyinto a lower recess and an upper recess, said transverse wall having athird opening formed therein in substantial alignment with said lowerrecess for receiving the shank of a second fastener therethrough, saidrecess carrying threads formed on the inner periphery thereof, and afoot having a shank thereon and extending upwardly therefrom and throughsaid first opening and into said recess, said shank carrying on theupper end portion thereof a threaded portion engaging said threads topermit adjustment of the foot with respect to the body, the portion ofsaid shank between said foot and said threaded portion being unthreadedand having a predetermined length, whereby said foot may be adjustedwith respect to said body a distance equal to said predetermined lengthwhile concealing the threaded portion of said shank in said recess.